By Barry Hatton, Associated PressLISBON, Portugal (AP) — More than 4,800 individuals may have been victims of child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church and 512 alleged victims have already come forward with their stories, an expert panel looking into historic abuse in the church said Monday. Senior Portuguese church officials had previously claimed that only a handful of cases had occurred. The Portuguese church hasn’t said whether it intends to pay compensation to any victims. It added that 77% of victims didn’t report the abuse to church officials and only 4% went to the police. Information about child sex abuse found in ecclesiastical records should be regarded as “the tip of the iceberg,” the report said.

Source: The Herald February 13, 2023 22:23 UTC